VOA慢速英语2015 尼日利亚移民的美国梦

AS IT IS 2015-06-29 Nigerian Immigrant¹ Lives the American Dream 尼日利亚移民的美国梦

Lookman Afolayan Mashood moved to the United States from Nigeria in 1996. For several years, he worked in a restaurant as a dish washer and cook. Later, he directed day-to-day operations at the eatery.

About five years ago, he and his girlfriend, Natalie Goldberg, opened their own restaurant in Brooklyn -- one of New York City’s five boroughs³. The restaurant sells Nigerian food. It is called “Buka.” That is a word in the Hausa language for a simple eating place on the side of a road that sells good food.

Mr. Mashood thinks his business, called Buka New York, is the most popular African restaurant in the city.

“There's no food compared to Nigerian food. Anybody can cook goat, anybody can cook beef. But when a Nigerian man cook(s) beef for you, you will see the difference. We always bring the flavor⁴ out of anything we cook, whether its fish, whether its beef, whether its chicken, whatever we cook -- it's very distinctive⁵ -- that colonialism has not been able to change! So, I’m very proud to say I present Nigerian food as it should be, in New York.”

Mr. Mashood says it was not easy to operate a restaurant.

“Nobody give you money to start a restaurant -- there’s no angel fund⁶ for restaurants, so you have to struggle very extra hard, you will never have enough money. So if you want to have a restaurant, you need a heart -- I think heart is the most important thing, the conviction⁷ I’m going to have a restaurant.”

People eating at the restaurant like the choice of foods.

“So, it has okra, smoked fish, goat meat, and you eat it with pounded yam.”

“When I dine⁸ here, it’s like I’m home. And that’s the truth.”

Mr. Mashood says that when he lived in Nigeria, he was just one of many people around the world who wanted to live in the US.

“You cannot stop immigration -- the best of America is immigration, because it is only the bright mind(s), in all the corners of the globe that want to come to USA. It’s only the people that want to advance, those are the people who apply for (a) visa, and want to come here. The dream is still very available, still alive, and especially for Nigerians, because if you want to come to America and work very hard, you will survive. You will gain the reward of what you’ve done.”

Words in This Story

borough² – n. one of the five main areas of New York City

distinctive – adj. having a quality or characteristic that makes a person or thing different from others; different in a way that is easy to notice

colonialism – n. control by one country over another area and its people

angel fund – n. money offered by governments or other organizations to help people starting a business

conviction – n. a strong belief or opinion

okra – n. a tall plant whose pods are eaten as a vegetable and are used in soups and stews⁹

advance – v. to go forward; to make progress

1 immigrant   

adj.(从国外)移来的，移民的；n.移民，侨民

参考例句：

• Life in the USA was very hard for almost every new immigrant.美国的生活几乎对每一个新移民都很艰难。
• I'd like to obtain some information about applying for an immigrant visa.我想取一些申请移民签证的资料。

2 borough   

n.享有自治权的市镇；(英)自治市镇

参考例句：

• He was slated for borough president.他被提名做自治区主席。
• That's what happened to Harry Barritt of London's Bromley borough.住在伦敦的布罗姆利自治市的哈里.巴里特就经历了此事。

3 boroughs   

（尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇

参考例句：

• London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
• Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。

4 flavor   

n.味，滋味，味道；风味；vt.调味，加味于

参考例句：

• I like the flavor of chocolate.我喜欢巧克力的味道。
• Each flavor was totally unique.每一种味道都是独一无二的。

5 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

6 fund   

n.基金，资金，存款，财源，贮藏；vt.提供资金，积累

参考例句：

• They decided to set up a fund for this purpose.他们决定为此专立一项基金。
• This fund may not be drawn on without permission.这笔钱非经批准不得动用。

7 conviction   

n.确信，坚定的信仰；说服，信服；定罪

参考例句：

• His conviction carried him along in his research.他的信心支持着他把研究工作坚持下去。
• His conviction caused rioting in the streets.他被判有罪，引起了街头骚动。

8 dine   

vi.吃饭，进餐；vt.宴请

参考例句：

• I wish I could afford to dine off fresh meat every day.我要是能天天吃到新鲜的肉就好了。
• Let's dine out tonight，I'm too tired to cook.我太累了，不想做饭，今晚咱们到外面吃吧。

9 stews   

n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews. 玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most stews contain meat and vegetables. 炖的食物大多是肉类和蔬菜。 来自辞典例句